Obama, Power call for plane probe

President Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power on Friday both said that evidence suggests a surface-to-air missile fired from territory controlled by Russian separatists shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

The president called for an immediate ceasefire during a speech in the White House briefing room and for a “credible international investigation” into the incident that killed 298 people.

Power, who spoke at a Friday morning meeting at the United Nations Security Council, said U.S. officials believe that the plane “was likely downed by a surface-to-air missile, an SA-11, operated from a separatist-held location in eastern Ukraine.”

Both she and the president also pointed to two incidents of Russian separatists claiming responsibility for the shooting down of a Ukrainian cargo jet and a Ukrainian fighter jet this week.

While Power called on all parties in the Ukraine-Russia conflict to commit to a ceasefire, she condemned the Russian government for its support for separatists.

“Russia says that it seeks peace in Ukraine, but we have repeatedly provided this Council with evidence of Russia’s continued support to the separatists,” she said.

“This war can be ended. Russia can end this war. Russia must end this war,” she concluded.

The president’s address on Friday came after U.S. and foreign officials called for a full investigation as well as action.

Power, as well as Ukrainian and other U.S. officials, believe that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down Thursday while at 33,000 feet, an action Ukraine’s government has already explicitly blamed on pro-Russian separatists and called a terrorist attack, though no group has taken responsibility for downing the plane.

Obama said he could not yet confirm who exactly fired the missile.

While American politicians — including several Republican members of Congress — have already said they see Putin’s “fingerprints” on the alleged attack, Ukraine officials in the region are reporting details they say point to pro-Russian separatists in the region.

Ukraine’s State Security Service released tapes Friday from what it says are two intercepted phone calls between Russian separatists and the Russian military, according to a report from the AP. In one call, separatist official Igor Bezler reportedly tells military officials that his forces have shot down a plane.

In the other call, an unidentified individual tells the military that the attack was conducted by members of a Cossack militia. “These are Chernukhin folks who shot down the plane. From the Chernukhin check point. Those Cossacks who are based in Chernukhino,” said the man identified as “Major,” according to an English translation by the Kyiv Post. The translations appear to indicate that the separatists were shocked that the plane was a civilian aircraft.

The phone calls have not yet been independently verified, and pro-Russian separatists have denied responsibility.

In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t accuse Ukraine of shooting the plane down, but pinned the responsibility for the crash on that country. “This tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in southeast Ukraine,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin statement. “And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.”